Residents against Richland RV park

A Richland couple's desire to build a 182-space RV park near Cottonwood Elementary School in Badger Canyon has upset many nearby residents.

Michael Shuttleworth, Benton County planning manager, has received more than a dozen public comments of concern, "99 percent of them objecting to it being next to a school," he said.

The protests began after David and Charlotte Schlotfeldt applied for a special permit to build what they described as a family-friendly RV park on 25 acres just off Cottonwood Drive and Wiser Parkway.

Shuttleworth said with all the public comments received and the comment period lasting through Friday, it is unlikely the public hearing scheduled before the Board of Adjustments will occur Feb. 3 as originally planned, but probably will be delayed to March 3.

Sign Up and Save

"We still have to prepare a Washington State Environmental Policy Act decision before we can have the hearing," Shuttleworth said.

Matthew Durst, who lives on Cottonwood Creek Boulevard, told the Herald in an e-mail Tuesday that there "has been quite the uproar in the neighborhood as everyone agrees that this would be the kiss of death for the area."

Durst said an RV park bringing as many as 200 "transient RV and trailer residents on 20 acres" would add traffic, crime and noise to the residential area, creating an unsafe environment for children to attend the nearby school.

The Schlotfeldts told the Herald two weeks ago that they wanted the RV park to be recreation oriented, offering a splash playground, petting zoo, main clubhouse and walking paths, plus other family-friendly features.